Electrotyper&#39;s case



Sept. 9, 1924.

W. W. MCCARROLL.'

`ELECTROTYPER S CASE Filed Jan. 5, 1924 ALUMINUM PLHTE (inval/1to1,

Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

, UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

ELECTROTYPERS CASE. y

Application led January 5, 1924. Serial No. 684,672.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it: known that l, WALKER W MCCAR- ROLL, citizen of the `United States, residing at New Haven,.in the county of New Haven 5 and State of Connecticut, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrotypers Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to'certain new and useful im rovements in electrotypers cases. Hereto ore electrotypers cases have been formed of lead plates or sheets owing to the property of the lead in resisting the action of the acid in the electrolytic solution, the sheets or plates being faced with a coating of beeswax, a mixture of ozokerite or a composition of equivalent density. Thevobjections experienced by electrotypers to the use of a lead plate are manifold and among which may be briefly mentioned the difficult ofmaintaining the plate in a lane for moldsi ing; the tendency of the lea to jam on its edges in handling and the constant necessity of straightening by highly skilled labor through use of a planer and mallet to maintain the plate in as near a proper condition aspossible, the expense of melting, recasting, boring of holes and-planing when the case becomes unfit for further use. c

' The primary object of the present invention therefore is to overcome all of the above objections and to also provide a case which is of reduced weight so as to increase production by facilitating handling in the v-arious operations of wax-casting, shaving, molding, building-11p, black-leading, prepagration for the tubs, and stripping the shell from the case after deposition of the copper. The invention briefly, also aims to enable lar er and thicker cases to be used without un ul increasing the exertion required in handling and to overcome the tendency of the connection hooks to break through the thereof.

2, is a section lon line 2-2 of `Figside of the case, with consequent destruction Figure 3, is a fragmentary plan view of the plateafter preparation for and prior to the application of the wax facing, and

Figure 4, is a view similar to Flgure 3, of

a modified form of the invention.

In proceeding in accordance 'with the presentinventionfa plate 1 formed of hard rolled aluminum is employed. Owing to the extreme hard and smooth properties ofthe aluminum sheet, it is necessary to prepare a side face thereof for the reception of the melted wax 2 so as lto effect adherence thereof tothe sheet. This may be accomplished in various manners,for example by filing cr mechanically roughing the face as shown at 3 in Figure 4, or by chemically granulating or stippling the face as shown at 4 in Figure 3, for example by application of hot lye. The latter method has in actual practice been found the most expeditious and economical. The melted wax is now applied to the prepared face of the aluminum plate and forms a coating or layer .thereon as depicted in the drawings. The plate is provided with the customary apertures 5 to receive the usual electrical connection hooks.

By the use of the present invention, a marked reduction in weight of the case is had. Lead cases i. e., cases made of lead and other metals, lsuch as tin and antimony weigh about twenty-four (24) pounds, while cases made in accordance with the present invention weigh eight (8) pounds, a differf ence of sixteen (16) pounds. This factor alone is of' vltal importance in increased7 production, an increase of thirty-live perf cent (35%) having been attained in actual test, since a case passes through upwards of seven stages of operation by as many towit: the wax caster, ythe shaver and iasher, the moulder, the builder-up, lthe black-leader, the wet-leader, the stopper-out, the battery-man, man who melts off the wax, 'at which pointv the operations are repeated.. y

v It ls-also essential that the case be in a perfect plane for the work. When lead the case-stripper, and the men,

cases are used, they get out of shape in hanf dling and -must be straightened by usin a mallet and planer, which is a highly-sk ed operation and even when the operator possesses the highest skill is not always done as well as it should be. The hammering with mallet and planer to preserve the plane los -life of the lead of the case; when was found to have a tendency to crystallize the metal, and cause it to crack, stretch out of shape and break. The added weight when a case was made larger or thicker greatly increased the danger of the connection hooks breaking through the edge of the case. Both of these causes shortened the case, which averages .about three months. Cases formed in accordance with the present invention have been in constant use for l'nearly eighteen months and during that time it has not been found necessary to use a 'mallet and planer on any onel of same.

Cases made of copper and brass have been made in an endeavor to overcome the ob- 'ections of the lead case. .These seemed to ave a tendency to reverse the current when a short circuit was formed. They also had a marked tendency to deposit on the back this occurred, it was found impossible to strip the deposit from the back, as can be^done from a lead case, and v e use of copper and brass was discontinued.

Another desirable result secured by the light Weight of the case is the fact that the thickness and size of the `case canbe matcrially increased without unduly increasing theexertion of the different'menv handling them. Also when it was endeavored to increase the size of the cases, it was also found necessary to increase the thicknessof the plateto better keep it in a plane. The addition of both size. and thickness added so Amuch to the weight that they were abandoned except where the size was the essential factor. An increase in size results in a proportionate increase in the quantity roduced with but little additional increaseln labor.

In practise, I have found that I can secure 35% increase in the production from one case, at an additional expense of less than 15% for labor, and this increase is due entirely to the 'reduced weight of the case. While the trade has long appreciated the desirability of using large cases, it was found that the labor of handling the larger lead cases was too much of a strain on the operators and tired them so much that their work was slowed down to a point where the advantage gained by thelarger case was:l

lost.

When lead cases are used,

case is usually set on the and the corners and ed es become jammed This prevented the'bac of the case from lying flat on thetable when the melted wax was poured on the face,fand as a result, the wax Would flow under the case and extra at the operationv of stripping the shell from the wax, the 1' floor on one end,

labor was necessary to remove this wax v it is evident that a lighter case connection hooks to break through the side of the case,destroying its valueand necesg `sitating its being melted and recast as a new case, which is avoided by use of the present invention.`

Preferably of the wax facing are beveled as in the drawings at 6.

What is claimed is: 1. AnY electrotypers case formed of a hard-rolled aluminum plate.

2. An eleqtrotypers case formed of a hard-rolled aluminum plate having a roughened side face and a coating of wax applied to said roughened face. y

y3. An electrotypers case' formed of a hard-rolled aluminum plate, and means to allix a coating of wax to a side face of the p ate.

4. An electrot pers case formed of a hard-rolled aluminum affix a coating forreceiving the impression to a side face of the late.

5.. A11 hard-rolled aluminum element and means to affix acoating of material capable of re ceiving anvkimpression' to a side face thereof. In testimony whereof I aix my signature. WALKER W. MGCARROLL.

the marginal or edge ortions epicted quite a` factor 1n preventingthis' plate, and means to handled as roughly as a heavier f electrotypers case including a v 

